At the age of 23, Hope McKinney was at a crossroads on what she wanted to do with her life. After taking classes at a community college near her hometown in South Windsor, Connecticut, McKinney was looking for a change. “I felt stagnant and desperately needed a sense of direction,” McKinney says, reflecting on her decision to move to Rhode Island. “I applied to URI and picked journalism as my major, solely because I loved writing and felt I could possibly create a career out of it,” she says. “As soon as I started my journalism classes, I knew I made the right choice.”

During her time as a journalism major, McKinney says many professors have inspired and influenced her as a student; however, she mentions Professor John Pantalone as being especially influential. “I melded incredibly well with the way Professor Pantalone taught. He’s not afraid to destroy your work with correction marks and criticize you to your face in front of others. That makes him sound terrifying, but it isn’t. He’s the definition of tough love,” McKinney says. It was through this rapport with Professor Pantalone that McKinney was able to find her first journalism internship at the East Greenwich News. The internship proved to be an amazing opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the journalism field. Working alongside editor Elizabeth McNamara, McKinney was challenged to write about topics she was not previously used to, and this experience solidified her desire to continue a career in journalism. “My favorite part of interning at EG News was getting to write about intimate and significant stories from 2020,” she says. “Every person’s world was shifted due to COVID-19 and the burst of the Black Lives Matter movement. It was an honor to write about the variety of experiences people had”.

McKinney says that her dedication to improving as a student and journalist is largely due to pursuing a career path a little later than others. “Picking my major and going back to school at an older age was the best decision I made. At 23, I had much more of a handle on my life goals and knew I was fully prepared and dedicated to my major. All the different avenues I attempted beforehand led me to that point, and I appreciated the education I was getting in a way I couldn’t have when I was 18,” she says. She is plans to graduate in the spring of 2021 and, inspired by her time with the EG News, says her dream job would be “freelance writing about film, any form of art and intimate stories about ‘ordinary’ people.” As for advice for prospective students looking to study journalism, McKinney says passion is key. “Hold onto your fire. Even when someone inevitably looks at you with a sympathetic gaze for diving into a career field that seems to be currently set aflame, you’re going to change the world, and that’s always worthwhile”.

Check out McKinney’s personal website here.

Also check out some of McKinney’s work for East Greenwich News:

https://eastgreenwichnews.com/thousands-gather-in-providence-in-support-of-black-lives/

https://eastgreenwichnews.com/a-shining-star-for-a-hidden-community/

https://eastgreenwichnews.com/mr-bob-a-silver-lining-during-covid/

~ Written by Taylor Petrini, English Major, URI Class of 2021